Corri McFadden hosts premiere party for VH1's 'House of Consignment' at James Hotel

Corri McFadden

Photography by Lorenzo Tassone

Corri McFadden at her 'House of Consignment' premiere party at The James Hotel March 21, 2012.

Corri McFadden at her 'House of Consignment' premiere party at The James Hotel March 21, 2012. (Photography by Lorenzo Tassone)

About Last Night

While her 200 or so trendy guests watched the series premiere of VH1’s “House of Consignment” at a screening party at The James Hotel Wednesday, Corri McFadden -- the star of the Chicago-based reality show and founder of eDrop-Off -- sat in the crowd in her gold sequin dress responding to emails and tweets on her laptop.

It was McFadden’s way of not only communicating with viewers of the show, which filmed in her Lincoln Park retail store August through November, but also keeping up with what was being said about it.

“It’s pretty surreal,” McFadden said at the premiere party, which featured a cotton candy machine and dessert tables with Pop Rocks and chocolate mixed with bacon. “I wasn’t nervous at all, but everyone asks ‘Are you nervous?’ I feel like I should be nervous. But I’m just excited to see this come to life. Everyone can now see that it’s real.”

The series follows the 29-year-old McFadden and her eDrop-Off staff, many of whom were in attendance Wednesday, as they help clients sell high-end items they don’t use through eBay (picture the “We Sell Your Stuff On eBay” store from “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” – only eDrop-Off sells Versace and Chanel products rather than glittery platform boots that hold goldfish).

Although McFadden admits trashy reality television is one of her guilty pleasures, she insists her 10-episode series doesn’t fall into that category.

“I think a lot of girls are looking for someone inspirational,” said McFadden, who came came up with the idea for her luxuary consignment business while in fashion school. “I made something from nothing. I’m the American dream. I started with $37 and grew up in Kansas City and I had a bigger vision and made it come to life.”

McFadden said the main reason she did “House of Consignment” was to give her business national exposure and added that she hopes the show will help multi-million dollar business “sky rocket.” Sure, she thought the first day of filming was crazy due to the number of cameras and crew at the store and she was a bit uncomfortable during a lunch meeting outside Tavern on Rush when cars slowed down and watched the filming, but like any reality star does, she got used to it.

“You still have a job to do,” McFadden said. “You can’t let it interfere.”